Man made false confession to lawmen to keep buddy out of jail, deputies say

March 19, 2013|By Barbara Hijek, FloriDUH

How far would you go to help out a buddy?

Around 2:30 a.m. on St. Pat's Day deputies arrested 30-year-old Francisco Martinez and charged him with three counts of DUI after he allegedly lost control of the 2001 Mustang he was driving and slammed into a tree in Wahneta, according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Martinez was ejected from the car and suffered several lacerations to his face. One of his two adult male passengers is in critical condition and it is unclear at this time if he will survive his injuries; the other man is in stable condition. Nobody in the car was wearing a seat belt, according to the release.

An initial hospital tox report indicated Martinez had a BAL of .226.

While investigating the crash, the owner of the car, Bobby Vinton, 56, of Winter Haven, reportedly walked up to deputies and told them he was the one behind the wheel -- despite no indications that he had been involved in a crash, deputies said.

Vinton eventually 'fessed up to deputies that he had lied about being the driver because he didn't want his buddy, Francisco Martinez, to get into trouble.

Martinez was booked into the Polk County Jail on two counts DUI With Serious Bodily Injury, one count DUI with Property Damage, and one count No Valid DL. He will also be on hold for ICE, as he is in the country illegally, records show.

Vinton also was busted for Giving False Info to Police During a Felony Investigation, and booked into the Polk County Jail.